“She is. Very lovely.”
“I’ll leave you two to get to know one another. Katherine, make sure you tell him all about Princeton.”
Mrs. Jackson leaves, and Katherine rolls her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
I laugh, instantly at ease with her. “What is with the matchmaking? If I’m not mistaken, it’s the twenty-first century.” I see that her glass is almost empty. “Come on, let’s get a fresh drink.”
“Or ten.”
I laugh at that. “It’s not so bad,” I say, and then check myself. “What am I saying? It’s bad, it’s really bad.” She laughs with me and hands me her glass.
The bartender fills it with wine, and she gives me a grateful smile. “If we could just pretend we’re falling for each other tonight, that would really help a girl out.”
“My mother is at it too, so you could help me out. We can hang out, but you should know I’m with someone.”
She glances around. “Oh, is she here?”
I give a fast shake of my head. “No, this isn’t her kind of thing.” I glance around the room, and frown. “She’d actually hate it.”
“I like her already, and if you’re worried about me trying to get a ring, don’t. I’m more into Christinas than Christians.”
I laugh at that, really liking her. “I wasn’t worried, but I guess your grandmother doesn’t know, huh?”
She exhales. “No, I haven’t been able to break it to her.”
“Sorry about that. I know it can’t be easy.” I put my arm around her shoulder like we’re long lost friends, and guide her to a quiet spot in the room. We both take a seat, and for the next half hour, fall into easy conversation. I catch Linc’s eye a few times as Chelsea and a few of the other girls in the room chat with him. He’s got my back, keeping Chelsea occupied.
“I thought it might have been Chelsea you were with,” Katherine says.
“Why’s that?”
She takes a small sip of wine and crinkles her nose. “She looks like she wants to put me through a woodchipper.”
I chuckle. “I guess it’s a good thing we don’t have one then.” I stand and hold a hand out to her. “How about a breath of fresh air?”
We head out onto the back patio, and the cooler night air falls over us. We lean over the rail and take in the dark night. “Tell me more about Princeton,” I say, and for the next half hour we talk about school, and football, and before I realize it, I’m talking about Maize, like nonstop, I need to shut up already. I’m sure I’m boring Katherine to death. I shake my head.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I went off like that.”
Katherine grins, like she knows something I don’t. “I do. You really like her.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I do like her.”
She angles her head, her dark eyes moving over my face. “Does she know it?”
I rake my hand through my hair. “I…I’ve never actually told her, I guess.”
“Maybe you should.”
“When did you get so smart?” I ask and when she shivers, I put my arm around her and lead her back inside. Her grandmother gives us a big smile.
“She’s going to be heartbroken,” Katherine says with a sigh.
“You have to live your life, Katherine. You have to do what makes you happy.”
“Great advice coming from a guy who’s at a party when there’s somewhere else he’d rather be.”
I laugh. “You got me there.”
She checks the time. “I think it’s time for Grandmother to head home. It was so nice seeing you again, and I look forward to meeting Maize.”
“You’re going to love her.”
She smiles at me and puts her palm on my face. “If you love her, everyone will love her.”
I do. I do fucking love her.
I reach for my phone, to see if she returned any of my messages, and that’s when I remember Linc has it.
“Take care, Katherine,” I say and go in search of Linc. The party has died down quite a bit, many of the elderly guests long gone. Linc has had far too much to drink by the time I find him and I guess he’s drowning his sorrows. He really seemed to like Steph, and this breakup has been hard on him. I want to help, but I don’t know what the answer is. A hook up? Spending time alone? All I know is whatever he decides to do, I’ve got his back.
“You’re sleeping here tonight, bud,” I say and put my hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, thinking that would probably be a good idea.”
“Thanks for running interference.”
He nods. “Was that Katherine?” His head bobs a little. “Chelsea wasn’t very happy about you ignoring her.”
“Yeah, it was Katherine, and I wasn’t ignoring her. Besides, you kept her busy.”
“I should go say hi to Katherine.”
I stop him. “She’s really sweet, too sweet for you dude, so forget it.”
He laughs, and finishes his drink. “You’re right. You know I’m going to have to beat the shit out of Kyle.”
My head rears back. “Kyle, why?”
“I think Steph is with him.”
“Fucker.”
“Yeah.”
“We can talk about Kyle tomorrow. Go upstairs, climb into one of the spare beds, and sleep it off.”
“Okay, dude.”
His shoulders are slightly slumped as he walks off, and my mother steps up to me. “Is Linc okay?”
I catch him stumbling a bit on the stairs. “He’s going through a rough time.”
She nods and smiles. “He seemed to be hitting it off with Chelsea.”
“They’re just friends,” I say as he disappears up the stairs.
“What about you and Chelsea?” She waves a finger at me. “I caught you two in your room, remember.”
“Friends.”
“Yes, of course.” Her diamond earrings glisten in the overhead light as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “You seemed to be interested in Katherine. She’s a lovely girl, Christian.”
“I’m interested in someone else.”
Her face lights with curiosity as she
